In 2016-17 the Oxnard Chamber was fortunate to participate in a statewide grant for the development of youth employment and to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs. We added a part-time staff member and developed some exciting programs. Working with the Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) and the Ventura County Civic Alliance, we partnered to hold Intern Boot Camps, a Girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer, and Math) day, and an “Entre to Employment” dinner to highlight careers in the hospitality industry. Unfortunately, that grant ended June 30, 2017.

However, we are continuing our efforts in 2018 with an intern-ready certification program. Working with the OUHSD, we are developing criteria for students to qualify to earn a certificate acknowledging they have completed coursework, workplace tours, job shadowing, and career exploration.

Once a student has obtained the intern-ready certification, employers can be certain they will benefit from providing internships. We are looking for businesses who will embrace this program and guarantee interviews for certified students. Not only is this a great way to look for prospective workers, but it is a great way to invest in our future workforce.

If you are interested in this new program, please give me a call (805-983-6118 x 4) or email me. Thanks!!

Oxnard sure has more than its fair share of challenges these days. With the city council recall looming, the city being threatened to create electorate districts, and changes in the top management at city hall it’s a wonder anything gets done. But aside from all of the distractions, we should count our blessings.

Last month when the Thomas Fire was raging, I remember saying to myself on numerous occasions, “I am so lucky to not be threatened by this fire and can sleep in my own bed without concern that a disaster is going to strike me.”

Oxnard is not vulnerable to wild fires. The risk is low because we don’t have vegetation-covered hillsides. Kind of makes the Oxnard Plain a bit more appealing. Likewise, we don’t have to worry about the devastation of mud and landslides. I’m still trying to comprehend what happened in Montecito.

I’m not sure what I will be saying after the “Big One” hits Southern California when we could be subject to liquefaction or a tsunami. But for now, I am really happy I both live and work in Oxnard!Now, if we could just do something about the politics in our city…

I hope you can enjoy the holidays and the remainder of 2017. Savor the peace and quiet while you can, because 2018 promises to be a very noisy year.

We will start off the year with what likely will be a special election for Oxnard voters to decide if they want to recall the mayor and three councilmembers. Assuming the Ventura County Elections Division deems enough valid signatures were collected to trigger a special election, there will be four incumbents running campaigns to keep their jobs. There will also be a number of hopeful candidates vying to replace them. I have visions of the beautiful city of Oxnard being covered with campaign signs!

Almost simultaneously there will be campaigns leading up to the June primary election. (State legislation was passed in 2017 to move the primary election to March, but that doesn’t take effect until 2019.) More campaign signs! Fortunately, Oxnard will not be dealing with a supervisorial election in 2018, but the east portion of the County certainly will.

We can look forward to our summer and fall being filled with campaign rhetoric, promises, mud-slinging, and – yes – signs!

When Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, was in Oxnard on December 1, he had some interesting observations about the state and federal elections in 2018. Since Jerry Brown is termed out, there will be a lot of interest in the governor’s race. But where that interest comes from could impact federal House and Senate races.

Since California adopted the top-two primary, our ballots have contained many more names of Democrats. It’s no surprise since California is a blue state. Mr. Zaremberg explained that if there are multiple Republicans in the governor’s race going into the primary, it is likely that they will split the party vote and two Democrats will be on the November ballot. If that is the case, Republicans could lose interest in the November, which would affect the Congressional races, ultimately providing gains to the Democrats. Interesting…

November 2018 seems so far in the future right now, but there will be non-stop activity leading up to it. I can almost hear the sigh of relief when November 6 passes and the world becomes quite again.

We can count on a very busy and very noisy political season in 2018 with lots of those dreaded campaign signs!!!!

On November 9 the Oxnard Chamber convened policy experts to have a frank discussion about the healthcare system in our state and our country. Featured at the Oxnard Business Outlook were Loren Kaye, President of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education; Darren Lee, President and CEO of St. John’s Hospitals; Kelly Bruno, President and CEO of than National Health Foundation; Dale Villani, Chief Executive Officer of Gold Coast Health Plan; and Dr. Adam Cavallero of UCLA Health.

While there was a lot of discussion about different healthcare delivery systems and preventative care programs, there is no magic answer to how we tear up the existing model nor what to replace it with.

As you may recall there is a piece of legislation (SB 562 The Healthy California Act) active in Sacramento that would provide healthcare for all. The price for this model is estimated to be more than $400 billion (Yes, with a “B”). For perspective, the State budget for all expenditures—not just health care, but also K-12 and higher education, social services, transportation, corrections and every other expense category—totals less than half of that amount. The bill was held in committee in 2017 because it did not contain a funding mechanism.

I like to look at what other states and countries are doing that provide a better return on the healthcare dollars invested. I recently ran across an article in Fox&Hounds Daily with some very interesting data I wanted to share:

The United States currently spends nearly 18% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare but ranks 41st in life expectancy, 55th in infant mortality, and 49th in maternal mortality. By comparison, the vast majority of industrialized countries—including the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Japan—spend between 9 and 12 percent of their respective GDPs on healthcare while achieving substantially better healthcare outcomes.

But Singapore is crushing them all both in terms of quality and cost. It can not only boast of being the only country in the top five in infant mortality, life expectancy, and maternal mortality—but also of spending just 4.7 percent per year of its GDP on healthcare. Singapore delivers the world’s best healthcare outcomes for 70 percent less than what the United States is spending and about 50 to 60 percent less than what the single-payer countries are spending.

The Singapore model is particularly intriguing because major parts of its system have been implemented here in the U.S. with great success, including by major private sector employers like Whole Foods Markets and by government-sector innovators such as the State of Indiana with its Healthy Indiana Plan.

The Singapore model is based on three key principles: choice, responsibility, and security. Some of the Singapore model—for example requiring everyone to deposit 7% of their income in a Health Savings Account—would be difficult to implement in the U.S., but innovators like Whole Foods Markets have implemented effective substitutes here in the United States.

Since it doesn’t appear we can build a better system on our own, why in the world do we not look to others who are delivering quality healthcare at an affordable price?

The Oxnard Chamber drafted an Immigration Reform position in 2007. We sent it to then Congresswoman Lois Capps every time the topic came up in Washington, DC. Unfortunately the issue was placed on hold numerous times because other, more pressing matters surfaced. In addition, the topic was never broached during election years, which is every other year for Congress.

Obviously a lot has changed in our political climate recently, so the Chamber's Business Advocacy Committee dusted off the 10-year old policy to update it. We sought and received input from agriculture, hospitality, and construction industry experts. We also weighed the impact on our economy and families with legal status issues.

The revised Immigration Reform position for 2017 was adopted by the Chamber's Board of Directors on September 28. It contains four components: